IT hiring and salaries are down

According to the latest salary survey from Janco Associates, salaries and demand for IT professionals is down. Here are the more interesting results of the survey.

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I have some bad news, and I have some bad news. According to Mid Year 2009 Salary Survey, eJobdescription.com (a division of Janco Associates), salaries and demand for IT pros is down.

Here are the most noteworthy observations from the survey:

• Many companies have instituted hiring and spending freezes in addition to laying off staff. This has been augmented by extensive outsourcing, bonus reductions, and elimination of IT contractors — which has decreased the demand for IT professionals and in some cases lowered wages, with higher priced positions being eliminated.
  —Layoffs have focused on middle management and IT support staff.
  —Many mid-sized enterprises have stopped hiring all together.
  —There are more than 200 IT professionals in the Metro New York area who earned well into the six figures who are looking for work due to mergers, bankruptcies, and layoffs.
• Companies are continuing to reduce the benefits provided to IT professionals. Though benefits such as health care are available, IT professionals are paying a greater portion of that cost.
• Flexible hours and work schedules are not as available as they were before the recent economic conditions changed.
• With outsourcing, lower bonuses, and the recent layoffs, there has been a slight decrease in the mean compensation paid to IT professionals. In addition, with the fall in the Janco Benchmark, it shows that hiring “new staff” has significantly declined.
• There is a surplus of seasoned IT professionals available. For the second time in less than ten years, retirements are being put off because of the downturn in the stock market and the resultant reduction in savings available to support IT professionals as they retire. Added to this is an influx of retirees who are looking to get back into the job market due to the massive reduction in their investment portfolio.